Manufacturing and warehouse facilities are busy places. There’s a lot going on between transporting raw materials to the right departments and loading and unloading trailers. In order to ensure the business is operating at peak efficiency, you do need forklifts and other lifting equipment. In fact, you should have several different types of lifts on hand. Here are some of the reasons why having multiple lifts will make a difference.

Always at Least One Spare Lift Ready to Use

What if one department is running out of raw materials while the packing department needs containers of finished goods moved to the warehouse immediately? If you only have one lift on hand, one task will have to wait. That wastes valuable time that your employees could be putting to better use.

If you have one forklift with blunted blades to fit neatly under fully loaded pallets with finished goods, deploy that one to transport the goods to the warehouse. While that’s going on, have what is known as a hay squeeze lift take care of retrieving raw materials from a storage spot and convey the materials to the right department. No one has to wait and your production figures for the day will be higher.

Getting into Tight Spaces

Trying to use a standard sized forklift in a narrow space just won’t worth. Whether the idea is to retrieve a specific container of finished goods from the back of a line or gently lift out a heavy part from a machine, you will find that a narrow lift will be a great asset. You will find that the right very narrow aisle forklifts distributor can help you choose a design that works well for your type of operation. Once you have the lift on the premises, you’ll be surprised at how often it comes in handy.

Moving Different Types of Goods or Machinery

It’s not just about moving raw materials or finished goods in and out of warehouses. It’s also more than loading and unloading trailers. Having multiple lifts on hand can help when you need to redesign the floor layout and move production machinery from one area to another. Basic tapered blades can slide under one end and gently drag machinery over a few feet with ease.

An unexpected bonus of having both a squeeze lift and a lift with standard blades is that you can also get an electric lift that’s out of power back to the charging station. Since you had the foresight to choose a squeeze lift that uses diesel fuel, all you have to do is release the safety break on the electric lift, run the squeeze lift behind the electric one, gently use the squeeze blades to wrap around the electric lift, and then push it to the charging station. That’s much easier than several employees attempting to manage the task using muscle alone.

Backup Resources When Things Get Really Busy

Many manufacturing facilities have slower periods and busier periods. When there’s a lot of orders to fill and you have several freight lines parking trailers on the dock, those goods need to be loaded now. With several Toronto Combilift lift trucks at your command, it’s possible to have each lift driver focus on loading specific orders on the right trailers. While it does take some coordination, it will be possible to load the trailers and have the goods on the way in a shorter amount of time.

Take a look at your operation and identify specifics ways one more lift would make a difference. Once you buy one or two more and put them to good use, you’ll wonder how you ever got along without those additional lifts.